Dear friend,
I am aware that we have heard stories of racial conflict an absurd amount of times in our lives. Usually these occur with only one minority group and the majority due to racism or prejudice against the minority. In the TV production for the play Fires in the Mirror, I observed a different sort of racial and cultural conflict that took place between two minority groups. This production shows the accounts of people in the black community and the Jewish community in Crown Heights, New York.
I was surprised to watch as an isolated incident involving the death of a black child though a car accident by a Jewish man erupted into an outbreak of hatred between two communities. This led to another death, the stabbing of Jewish man from Australia. This could have been just a terrible tragedy only involving those who were present at the scene of the accident. Instead the entirety of both communities were pulled in and it became a war of sorts between two cultures. Why do I think that this occurred? I think that the idea of community built a bond between the people of the groups that pulled them into the incident. If they were simply to ignore it, then it would be like abandoning family or someone close to you. Of course prior prejudice against the other group was a necessary factor. So much hate was built so quickly towards the other group that there must have been some underlying hatred present to begin with. This is possible since the two groups lived close to each other in the same community of Crown Heights.
Another scene I found interesting was the comparison of slavery to the Holocaust. I was shocked that anyone would attempt to make a comparison as to which tragedy was worse than the other. No matter how many people were killed over the other, it is an enormous tragedy to lose even one life due to prejudice against race, religion, looks, etc. Why must we compare how many millions of lives were lost. These were terrible crimes against these two races that should instead inspire compassion between the two peoples. Especially since they both went through similar injustices, the two should be able to understand each other better. It should not a contest about who had it worse.
I highly encourage you to watch this production as well. Not only is it insightful to the differences between two cultural groups and the different ways to view a single incident, but it is also entertaining to watch. The actress does a good job of designing different sets and personas in order to depict different members of each community. I hope you enjoy the production and gain your own insights on the matter. I am looking forward to hear your opinions and reactions on the piece as well!
Best regards,
I am aware that we have heard stories of racial conflict an absurd amount of times in our lives. Usually these occur with only one minority group and the majority due to racism or prejudice against the minority. In the TV production for the play Fires in the Mirror, I observed a different sort of racial and cultural conflict that took place between two minority groups. This production shows the accounts of people in the black community and the Jewish community in Crown Heights, New York.
I was surprised to watch as an isolated incident involving the death of a black child though a car accident by a Jewish man erupted into an outbreak of hatred between two communities. This led to another death, the stabbing of Jewish man from Australia. This could have been just a terrible tragedy only involving those who were present at the scene of the accident. Instead the entirety of both communities were pulled in and it became a war of sorts between two cultures. Why do I think that this occurred? I think that the idea of community built a bond between the people of the groups that pulled them into the incident. If they were simply to ignore it, then it would be like abandoning family or someone close to you. Of course prior prejudice against the other group was a necessary factor. So much hate was built so quickly towards the other group that there must have been some underlying hatred present to begin with. This is possible since the two groups lived close to each other in the same community of Crown Heights.
Another scene I found interesting was the comparison of slavery to the Holocaust. I was shocked that anyone would attempt to make a comparison as to which tragedy was worse than the other. No matter how many people were killed over the other, it is an enormous tragedy to lose even one life due to prejudice against race, religion, looks, etc. Why must we compare how many millions of lives were lost. These were terrible crimes against these two races that should instead inspire compassion between the two peoples. Especially since they both went through similar injustices, the two should be able to understand each other better. It should not a contest about who had it worse.
I highly encourage you to watch this production as well. Not only is it insightful to the differences between two cultural groups and the different ways to view a single incident, but it is also entertaining to watch. The actress does a good job of designing different sets and personas in order to depict different members of each community. I hope you enjoy the production and gain your own insights on the matter. I am looking forward to hear your opinions and reactions on the piece as well!
Best regards,
Shannon Altergott